Lawyer’s Pants Catch Fire…Smack in the Middle of Arson Trial

In a story that will do nothing to enhance the bad reputation lawyers have, an attorney's pants caught fire during the closing argument of an arson trial.

Stephen Gutierrez, 28, was defending his client in court Wednesday, arguing his car had spontaneously combusted and not intentionally been sent up in flames. That's when things took a turn for the bizarre.

The Miami Herald reports Gutierrez "had been fiddling in his pocket as he was about to address jurors when smoke began billowing out his right pocket."

He zipped out of the courtroom only to return with a slightly burned pocket. Skeptics may think he merely put on the display to make a point about his case, but Gutierrez says the whole incident stems from an e-cigarette that went haywire.

Officials are looking into the matter and even took some e-cigarette batteries as evidence. Depending on how this plays out Gutierrez could be held in contempt of court, which means that, in addition to feeling the heat in his pocket, he should also be getting a little hot under the collar.

Gutierrez's client, meanwhile, was convicted of second-degree arson, so if it really was a stunt, it was a colossal failure.